The Angel's Name Is Alice
by MV23
Summary: Bella is a BA, smooth-talking FBI agent from Phoenix on vacation with her bff, Angela. There, she meets a small beauty with a past in a coffee shop. Will Bella treat her like every other girl, or could this one be a game changer? Yea I suck at summaries. First attempt! Rated M just in case. Bellice pairing. All-human
1. Chapter 1

**The Angel's Name Is Alice**

A/N: Alright, this is my first attempt at writing any story EVER. I'm not really a creative person by any means, but I've always liked the Bellice pairing, and I got an idea and decided to go with it. So please let me know if I should keep this going or if I should just give up and stick to reading instead.

Disclamer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters

**Chapter 1**

God, it's too early. 7am and I just can't go back to sleep. This is nothing new though. I can never sleep in when I'm in a strange place...especially when I'm not alone. I look to my right and Angela is still dead asleep in the bed next to me. Must be nice. I look around the hotel room a few moments more before finally accepting the fact that falling back asleep is no longer an option. Damn. Well, I can't turn on the TV because it'll wake up Angela, and she can be such a crabby person in the morning. Forget that.

I walk over to the window to get a view of the town of Forks. It's still really foggy outside. Being from Arizona, fog is definitely something I'm not used to. I could feel the cold coming in from the closed window. I hate the cold. But Angela wanted to come here. She wanted to visit her family and her bf, Eric, and I just tagged along. I needed an excuse to go on vacation. I'd been working too much and I haven't used any of my vacation time. My captain practically made me take a week off.

I have over 8 weeks of vacation time that has rolled over in the last couple years, and I had to use them or my captain would get in trouble for "working me too hard". Whatever. He says that he'd rather me take a few days here and there then me take the last 2 months of the year off. Seeing that it's already early September, I had no choice. I never really ever felt the need to take time off from work. I love my job. I'm an FBI agent and a damn good one too. Over the past few years, I've been offered some promotions to desk jobs but I love being out in the field. I love the adrenaline. And I love the fact that I can kick the shit out of assholes that think their above the law.

From the window, I see a Starbucks about two blocks down the street. Maybe I'll get some coffee and a Chai tea for Angela when she wakes up. I comb out my hair, put on a minimal amount of make-up, and throw on a plain dark green v-neck, a light black jacket, and some dark wash jeans.

I walk out of the hotel, and the cool air rushes over me. I take a deep breath in and I relax instantly. Hmm. Maybe a week here won't be so bad. I start making my way down to Starbucks and taking in my surroundings. It's still early but the morning traffic is starting up. I see big yellow school buses picking up kids. Thank God I'm not in school anymore.

I head into Starbucks and notice there's only one person in line ahead of me. I take my phone out of my pocket and look over the Facebook newsfeed. Song lyrics, song lyrics, people complaining about their love lives, pictures from a party the night before, song lyrics, blah, blah, blah.

"Crap! I think I left my wallet at home!" My attention is drawn up to the girl in front of me who appears to be digging through her purse. "Forget it, then. Ugh."

"I can pay for you," I speak up. The girl turns around, and instantly, my breath is caught in my throat. Damn. She has the most beautiful pair of emerald eyes I have ever seen. She has pixie-like features, and soft, medium-length, dark brown hair. My eyes travel down her body noticing her wearing a simple, low-cut (but not too low), white t-shirt with black denim skinny jeans that make her legs look long and slender even though she a few inches shorter than I am. _Fucking gorgeous_. Yes, I am bisexual. Sue me.

"Oh no. It's ok. You don't have to pay for me," she says. Her voice is like velvet, almost musical. Answer stupid!

"Uh…no don't...don't worry about it. Umm…it's no big deal really," since when the hell do I stutter. Smooth dumbass.

"Thank you," the beauty smiles, flashing perfect teeth. Of course. I lost my train of thought again…nice.

"What were you going to order miss?" the barista asks pulling my gaze away from the girl. Oh yeah. Coffee. Right.

Careful not to look at her again so I don't lose my focus, I order. "Can I have a grande, hot caramel macchiato and a grande, hot Chai tea please?" I give her my credit card and step to the side to wait for my drinks.

"Really, thanks again. It's really sweet of you," she smiles. God I love her smile.

"No problem. Everyone needs a break every once in awhile. Uh besides, I saw the opportunity to do my annual good deed." …_Annual good deed_. Wow. That's the best I could come up with. She laughs anyway. Even her laugh is alluring…like soft wind chimes

"Why do I highly doubt that I was your only good deed for the year? I can't even believe that it's the only good thing you done even today."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, you're either really thirsty or you're getting Starbucks for someone else and seeing that one is tea and the other is coffee, I doubt they are both for you," she smirks proud of her observation. I raise my eyebrow. I'm impressed by her observation as well. Most people wouldn't have noticed.

I smile…not as pretty as hers but a smile nonetheless. "The tea is for my friend, Angela. She's still asleep in the hotel room."

"I knew you weren't from here! Where are you from? What brings you to Forks?" She looks actually interested. Huh…

"Here are your drinks ladies! Have a nice day!" says the barista as she passes us our drinks over the counter. I grab hers first and hand it to her causing her fingers to brush over mine. Tingles dance across my hand briefly from the contact. Whoa. What the hell was that? Her breath catches just a bit as her eyes flicker with confusion for only a moment, then smiles as she waits for my response to her questions. Wait, did she feel that too?

"Umm I'm actually from Phoenix, Arizona. My friend, Angela is from here though and she wanted to visit family and friends so I'm just..uh tagging along." I really need to quit stuttering.

"Angela Weber?" she asks.

"Yeah?" She knows her?

"I went to high school with her! Wow I haven't seen her in years! How long are you guys here for?" I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Forks does look small.

"A week. We just got in last night." My phone starts buzzing; Angela is calling me. Speak of the devil. "Excuse me for a sec," she nods. "Hello?" I answer.

"Hey Bella, where are you?" asks Angela with her voice all groggy. She must still be lying in bed.

"I'm at the Starbucks down the street getting you tea. I'll be there in a sec."

"Mmm kay. I just didn't know where you were. See you in a bit," Angela mumbles. I hang up the phone and look up at the girl patiently waiting. She's got to be a model…

"That was Angela. She just woke up," I tell her.

She purses her lips. "Guess you should go then huh?"

My stomach drops. "Yeah, I guess I should." I don't really want to go…

"Well, tell Angela I said hi and if you aren't too busy, I'd like to get together with you guys some time to, you know, pay you back for the coffee," she looks down as she finishes her statement. She looks almost vulnerable as if expecting rejection…I must be imagining this…

"Yeah, sure. I don't think I'll be too busy," _Psh_ I'll clear my schedule even if I was. Then it hits me. "Wait, I don't even know your name."

"Right, I'm sorry. My name is Alice. Alice Cullen," she smiles. The angel's name is Alice.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow! I'm honestly shocked at the number of responses that I got! Thanks guys! I've obviously decided that I will finish this story. As far as updating goes, I will write the chapters throughout the week and will usually upload chapters every Tues and/or Thurs since that's when I have access to WiFi. If I can I will upload on other days if I'm feeling generous or I get a bunch of review…*hint, hint* ;) Anyway, enough of my ranting. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 2**

"_Wait, I don't even know your name."_

"_Right, I'm sorry. My name is Alice. Alice Cullen," she smiles. _

She holds out her hand. "And you are?"

"Isabella Swan...but I prefer Bella," I say taking her hand. A current shoots up my arm, and it sends shivers down my spine. What the fuck? I gasp and let go of her hand instantly.

"Are you okay?" Alice questions me but is that a hint of understanding I hear in her voice? If she feels that weird tingling crap, she's sure making an effort to hide it.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine. Just got a umm…a text message. The vibration scared me…" I lied. If she's gonna play that hide-and-seek crap with the tingles, I will too. We start walking outside Starbucks and she stops me in front of the door.

"What's your number so I can text you later?" Alice dials the numbers into her phone as I tell her. A second later, my phone vibrates (for real this time) and a random number pops up on my screen. "Ok, now you have my number too," she smiles.

"Well I guess I'll catch up with you later, Alice."

"Alice Cullen! I remember her! We used to hang out in high school!" Angela exclaimed back at the hotel room. "How's she doing? What's she doing now?"

"Yeah, I don't know. We didn't really talk about that…or anything meaningful for that matter, but she says she wants to get together to catch up." We really didn't talk about anything. I only learned her name…

"We should! Ask her if she wants to go out tomorrow night to the club or something! There's this club in Port Angeles that Eric's been wanting to take me to called Club Pearl," Angela lit up. I laughed and agreed as I took out my phone to text her. I hope she doesn't think it's too weird that I'm texting her already…

_"Hey it's Bella. I was just talking to Angela and she wanted to know if you wanted to go to Club Pearl with us tomorrow or something?"_ Ha! Can't stutter in text so I can't sound like such a dumbass! I plop down on the bed and wait for a response.

Less than a minute later,_"Hey Bella! Yea I'd love too! :)" _Sweeeet!

"She says she's free tomorrow," I told Angela trying to suppress my tone of excitement. I really don't feel like explaining why I'm excited because truthfully, I don't have a clue. There's just something about Alice that intrigued me. Kept me wanting more.

"Great! I'll let Eric know," she smiled.

Later that night, I was alone at the hotel room. Eric had came by and picked up Angela for a date. It wasn't the first time I met him. He had gone to visit Angela in Arizona a few times. Needless to say, it was good to see him again. Angela felt bad about leaving me alone and wanted to take me along but I didn't want to intrude on couple time. Plus I refused to be the third wheel.

I was sooo bored. There was nothing on TV. I didn't bring any books or movies with me, and I didn't have a car. Maybe there's a gas station or a store or something nearby with a Redbox. I looked up the nearest gas station on my phone.

Circle K about a quarter mile down the road. Bingo!

I threw on a light jacket and head out. Within five minutes, I'm already there picking out a movie. I don't have the slightest clue what I wanna watch.

I hear a soft, sweet voice just to my right. "Bella?" I know that voice! My heartbeat picks up as I turn to see her.

"Hey Alice!" I smile.

"You stalking me now?" she teases as she skips over to me. Yeah, I really mean skip. This girl has the most energy I've seen.

"I gotta figure out my way around somehow. Might as well follow a local," I shrug, playing along. She laughs, and I smile not wanting to interrupt the sound. Too bad I'm not funnier. I'd do impressions, crack jokes or something to make her laugh again…but in the end, I'll probably come off looking really stupid. "Uh what are you up to?" I ask giving up on the idea.

"Well it looks like I had the same idea you had. Redbox. I got bored so I decided to go ahead and rent a movie."

"What you're not going out tonight?" I pressed. "It's Friday night. No date?"

"No, I'm going out tomorrow night. Or did you forget that you invited me?" she pushes her lip out slightly in a pout. Adorable.

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten," I smile. I can't help but be relieved at the fact that she doesn't have a date…

"So what are you and Angela watching tonight?"

"Actually, uh I'm flying solo tonight. Angela is out on a date with Eric."

"Aww they're still dating? That's so great! I'm glad they're still together," I nod. "Well since we're both bored and alone tonight, you wanna be my movie buddy and watch a couple back at my place?" she asks innocently, bowing her head down and looking at me through her long eyelashes. Movie? At her place? Fuck yes! I am definitely all over that! Better answer calmly though.

"Yeah, sure," I answer as casually as I can.

After a couple minutes on debating which two movies to get, we decide on a scary one (Insidious) and a funny one (No Strings Attached). Honestly, we could watch Dora the Explorer, and I wouldn't give a shit. I was that bored. Ok well maybe the reason wasn't boredom but I wasn't about to admit that to myself.

As we are finishing up and about to head to her car, a low, chilling voice calls out.

"Hello, Alice," I see the owner of the voice in the form of a young man getting out of a white truck in front of us. He has short dirty blonde hair, dark grayish blue eyes, standing about 6 feet in height. He was sporting a navy blue t-shirt, jeans, and a sinister smile as he walked toward us.

"James," she said simply. All the energy and playfulness from before was now absent in her tone and was replaced with nerves and uneasiness. Who the fuck is this and why is she so uncomfortable now?

"What are you doing here this time of night? You know it isn't safe for a pretty little lady such as yourself to be out," he questioned as he took a step towards us. She said nothing. He continued, "Do you want me to take you home?" Again Alice said nothing but shook her head this time. James took another step towards us this time. I didn't like this. He's getting too close. Instinctively, I took a small, but defensive step slightly in front of Alice. The move didn't go unnoticed by him.

He raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Who's your friend, Alice?"

"Bella," I spoke in a stern tone. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have somewhere we have to be," I tugged Alice's sleeve, and she lead me to her yellow..._Porsche._ Wow. What a beautiful car…not the time to be marveling at her car, Bella. I moved my eyes back to James. I don't like having my back turned to people, him especially.

"Call me, baby," James called out once more and…winked. I was filled with rage instantly. Fucking asshole just _winked _at her. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but as calmly as I could I got in the car.

Immediately, Alice turned on the car and sped off.

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Thanks again to all of you who reviewed and subscribed to story! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Once I got past the beginning, I didn't stop writing. I even missed my class because I was on a roll. I didn't get a chance to read it over though, to check for any mistakes since it was so last minute so I'm apologizing in advance. Obviously, whether it's good or not is up to your discretion. Oh and this chapter is almost twice as long as the other ones, because of your "demand" for it to be so lol. See reviews are a good thing! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 3**

We sat in silence for a few minutes while Alice drove to her apartment just four blocks down the road. She killed the engine and just sat in her seat.

"Ok, I'm sorry but who the fuck was that?" I usually wasn't one to pry unless my job called for it, but I didn't like how quickly her demeanor changed from that one guy.

"No one. Just someone I used to know…" she said not looking at me.

"Yeah I have people I used to_ just know_ too but I don't react to them the way you just did. You completely froze up!" she stayed quiet and looked everywhere but at me. I sighed and waited for some kind of response from her.

Finally, Alice turned her head toward me, though her eyes still wouldn't look at me. James and I used to date…" she started. "It was a long time ago, during my first year of college. I had a couple gen ed classes with him, and I remembered him from high school but I never really spoke to him. Then one day, we were randomly paired up for a project in English 101. Obviously, by default we started to talk more and more. Eventually, James asked me out. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He was sweet and respectfully. We ended up hitting it off and went on a few more dates," Alice paused and stared off into nothing as if debating internally if she was going to finish her story.

"…One night, James took me to this party, and I had a few drinks," she continued, her voice increasingly shaky. "Pretty soon, I wasn't feeling well, and he took me upstairs. I thought he was taking me to a bathroom but instead we ended up in a bedroom. Next thing I know, he's kissing me and his hands are all over me. I kept telling him to stop and I tried to push him off. That's when he punched me in my stomach and put his hand over my mouth told me to shut up. He said I'd enjoy it," a tear rolled down her cheek from the memory. "Luckily, someone stumbled in all drunk and I took the opportunity to run out."

"Alice, did you go to the police?" I mumbled.

"And say what? I was at a party with my boyfriend, got drunk, as a minor I might add, and went upstairs. Nothing happened, thank God, and I had no proof of his attempt."

"Did you file a restraining order? Get him on record at least?" Alice shook her head.

"You're the first one I've told outside my sister-in-law. James tried calling me for weeks afterward, though I only picked up once. He kept telling me I was his and no one else's. That I was acting foolish. That's when I transferred out of state, leaving him and the memory behind. Tonight was the first time I've seen him since…"

I was livid and that didn't even begin to describe it. My hands were still balled up into fists on my lap. I hadn't moved since she started talking. I didn't look away from her once. Too much time had passed to take any legal action, sure, but I wanted to lay my hands on him so badly. I wonder if he's still at the gas station…

Alice sat there in her seat motionless. I didn't like seeing her like this. I wanted to see her happy and smiling. I was willing to do anything to see that again. I don't know what it is about this girl that has me so drawn to her. I know I should be fighting away the feeling because I don't live here, but that can't stop me from being her friend, right?

I reached over and held her hand in mine. She looked up at me for the first time since we left Circle K. "I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe," I whispered. "I'll protect you. I promise." I didn't know how I was going to do it but I meant every word that I said. Her emerald eyes bore into mine as she realized that I was serious, and managed to curl her lips up in a small smile. "Come on, do you still wanna watch these movies?" Alice nodded. "Then let's go," I urged as I let go of her hand and got out of the car.

As soon as we got situated inside, Alice relaxed a lot more. She wasn't 100% ok, but I'll take what I can get. She insisted on watching "Insidious" first, then "No Strings Attached" so she "won't get nightmares".

At the start of the first movie, we were both sitting on opposite ends of the couch with the lights turned off. Ten minutes into the movie, she was already scared and had a hold tight on my arm. Hey who am I to complain? Every time the music would pick up speed, I swear her breathing did too. I couldn't help but steal a glance at her. Her eyes were open wide with her lips slightly parted. Her expression was priceless. I had to bite my lip hard not to laugh.

"What? I can feel your eyes on me, you know."

"Sorry, but are you really this scared?" I teased.

"No," she pouted and I laughed. Alice pulled her arm from mine and scooted a little farther away from me again to prove her point. I immediately regretted mocking her and wanted to pull her closer but I decided against it, knowing she'll just get scared again and come right back to me on her own.

The suspenseful music picked up again and Alice pulls her knees into her chest. She hides her face behind her legs and peeks above her knees. Here it comes…Three…two…one…

Alice shrieks and practically leaps into my lap. I burst out into laughter!

"It's not funny!" Alice squeals in a childish tone and playfully hits me on the arm.

"Yeah it is," I continue laughing and Alice joins in as well. Just then, I notice how painfully close her face is to mine. Wow her skin is like porcelain; it looks so soft and smooth. Her eyes that I always thought were just emerald also contained a thin gold ring around the pupil. I travel down to her lips…they look so soft. I wonder what it would be like to kiss them...

NO! Nope. What the fuck am I doing? I shouldn't be forming attachments like this! I'm on vacation! I'm only here for a week!

"Are you ok?" Alice asked noticing my sudden tension.

"Uh, yeah. I just uh need to use your bathroom."

"Through the kitchen, first door on your right," Alice looked concerned. She jumped off my lap and I immediately excused myself.

Once in the bathroom, I stood over the sink and splashed cold water on my face.

I can't start anything with this little pixie. I just can't. It wouldn't be fair for her or for me to start something and have to end it all in a week. We can be friends. FRIENDS. And not friends with benefits either…though those would be nice benefits…NO! Just friends. Besides, I don't even think she's into girls like that. She dated James. _Bastard. _If I ever see him around my Alice again…NOOO! _My Alice!_ What the fuck is wrong with me? I don't even know her! JUST FRIENDS! Like sisters and bff type crap.

After a five minute pep talk (yeah it took that long), I looked up at the mirror and took a deep breath. _I can do this._

I opened the door and walked out. Alice was lying on the couch with a big red blanket. And she changed into more comfortable clothes consisting of a tight spaghetti strap shirt and sweatpants.

"Hey I got a blanket cause my legs were getting cold. Hope you don't mind?" Alice asked. I shook my head and sat back down on the couch as she started the movie again. Pretty soon, she had her arm linked in mine again and her head resting on my shoulder.

_Breathe…you've been in tougher situations than this. The moment will pass if you're strong enough to pass through it._ I repeated that over and over in my head. Even after the scary movie ended and she popped in the second one, she still went back to the same position. _I can do this. I can do this._

"Are you uncomfortable? You seem a little tense," Alice looked up at me.

"I'm ok," I lied. She looked right through me, sensing the lie.

"I don't believe you. Lay down," she demanded. Hmm she's pretty hot when she tries to take control...NOPE. No. Bad thought. I obeyed her and she curled up next to me. "Do you mind if I use you as a pillow? You're really comfy."

"Is that supposed to be a fat joke?" I raised my eyebrow and we laughed. She placed her head on my shoulder just under my collarbone. I could feel her breath on my chest.

Oh. My. God. _I can't do this._ I turned my head so she couldn't see me clench my jaw and squeeze my eyes shut. I tried to think of other things besides Alice, like my captain yelling at me. Oh that's a good one. Him just getting really angry and barking orders at me…like Alice and how she demanded that I lay down…NO! Next one!

Angela and Eric on their date! Yeah, I wonder what they're doing? Dinner, club, movie perhaps…just like we were supposed to be watching a movie but now Alice and I are lying on the couch, well she's laying on top of me…NEXT!

School! Ahahaha! School! I fucking hate school! I'll name all the things I hate about school. I hate the homework. I hate the classrooms. I hate the fucking desks, the damn teachers, the fucking students…I wonder what Alice would look like in a school girl outfit?

FUCK! DAMN MY MIND! GET OUT OF THE FUCKING GUTTER! AAAHHHH! This is so incredibly frustrating!

I dare to look down at Alice and her breathing is much heavier and her eyes are closed. She looks like an angel when she sleeps. I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful or so peaceful. Nothing in my life is this beautiful or peaceful. In my line of work, you're dealing with the scum of the earth. All I see or hear about are killings, kidnappings, drugs, etc. All I deal with is a bunch of violence. Sometimes you forget there's any good left.

I feel myself dozing off. I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes…then I'll go back to the hotel room…

* * *

><p>"<em>You had a lot of crooks try to steal your heart. Never really had love…"<em> My ringtone blared "How To Love" by Lil Wayne. I reached for my phone, waking Alice in the process. The screen read Angela.

"Hello," I answered groggily.

"_Hey, where did you go?" _

"I'm at Alice's apartment watching movies," I walked out of the apartment to continue the call. Alice still seemed a little out of it.

"_At nine in the morning?"_

"What? Its 9am?" Holy shit, did I spend the night here?

"_Yeah, you spent the night? Wow. What have you guys been doing?"_ Angela teased.

"Shut up. It's not like that," At least I'm trying to keep it that way…sort of.

"_C'mon 'lezbe' honest. You like Alice. You can't lie to me. Besides, Alice is hot. I don't blame you. If I was into chicks I'd go after her." _Her and her damn Jersey Shore references. I'm sorry but every time Angela forces me to watch those drunken, skin cancer candidates, I feel like I lose brain cells.

"Angela, can we talk about this later, please. She's waiting for me inside," Explaining is going to be a bitch. Great.

"_Alright. Don't keep your girl waiting! See ya when you get back!" _Angela hung up. Pain in the ass.

I walk inside and Alice is the kitchen.

"Hey, you want breakfast?" she asks.

"Yes, please. Thank you," Alice smiles and continues to dance around the kitchen getting ingredients to make eggs and pancakes, I assume. Good to see, she's her cheery self again. "Sorry I fell asleep on you last night."

"Don't worry about it. I fell asleep too, obviously."

"Yeah, I could tell by your snoring," she grinned at me.

"What? I was snoring? I'm so sorry!" She laughs.

"I'm only kidding!" I pretend to glare at her. She only giggles. "So, I was wondering, what do you do for a living?"

"I work for the FBI," her eyebrows raise, impressed.

"How long have you been working for them?"

"About three years. Before that, I worked for Customs and Border Protection, and went to school full time. That was hard. After I graduated was when I got into the FBI," I explained.

"Do you like what you do?"

"I love my job, and I'm very good at it."

"How good?"

"One of the best," I grinned. If there was one thing I was confident about, it was my job. "What about you? I noticed the Porsche so either you have rich parents or a very good job." She laughed.

"I'm a free lance fashion photographer," Wow, although, I would have thought she was in front of the camera, rather than behind it.

"Really? That's awesome! What was the last thing you did?"

"I actually just got back from New York, shooting for Vogue," my turn to be shocked. Very nice.

She served me my breakfast and we continued talking. I learned a great deal about her. There's a lot to this girl. I don't think there's a single thing I don't like about her…well except her track record with guys.

We finished eating, and we drove back to the hotel. Well she drove. I would have loved to drive but I don't know my around Forks yet.

"Thanks for coming over," she smiled. I don't think I'll ever get used to how perfect her smile is. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too. See ya tonight," I got out of the car and waved as she drove off.

Now to face Angela's questioning. Awesome.

**A/N: See you guys next week!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: So I wrote this chapter at 3 in the morning last night. My best friend seemed to like it though so I'm uploading it as is**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters...though i doubt I'd make any money off this story anyway...**

I stared at the door to my hotel room for a good twenty seconds before entering. What the fuck am I going to say to any of Angela's questions? It's not that I wanted to lie to her. I just didn't even understand what was going on, myself… "_Let's get this over with", _I muttered.

I walk in and Angela is lying up against the headboard watching TV. A huge grin appears on her face when she sees me come in, and she grabs the remote and turns off the TV. Not a good sign. Ugh. Angela sits up in an Indian-style manner and gently pats a spot on the bed in front of her, urging me to sit there. Pass.

"I think I'll just sit over here, thanks," I mutter and pull up the empty chair at the desk in the front of the room. Angela giggles.

"I think it's funny that you know what's coming," she smirks.

"Please, Angela. I've known you for over six years. I know exactly what's coming."

"So should I ease into it or just dive in immediately?"

"Well I've never been a fan of wading through bullshit so let's just rip it off like a band-aid and get it over with," I say as I get comfortable, leaning back in the chair and putting my hands behind my head.

"How'd you end up at Alice's apartment?" Angela fires the first question.

"I saw her at the gas station when I was getting Redbox movies. She was bored and alone at her place too, so she invited me over," I decided to skip the part about James for now.

"What movies did you guys watch?" I raise my eyebrow at her. I can tell Angela is holding back. Hmm. Wonder why?

"Umm 'Insidious' and 'No Strings Attached'," a little confusion slips in my tone.

"Where did you guys watch them? In the living room or the bedroom? Couch or bed?" the corners of her lips slightly turn up. Shit. Here we go.

"In the living room, on a couch," I answer dryly.

"What did you guys wear?" she's full on grinning now.

"Obviously, I wore the clothes I'm wearing right now. The same clothes I had on yesterday. And Alice just wore some sweatpants and a tank top," _that she looked oh so good in._ Not now dirty-minded Bella.

"No, not obviously. She could have lent you clothes…or you could have not worn clothes," she smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"I know you just wanted to ask if we slept together because _I know_ you've seen just how small Alice is. There is no way I'd fit into her clothing."

"Oh, so you _have_ been checking her out?" Angela teases.

"No, Angela. It was merely an observation," I gritted my teeth. That was such a lie but I'm ready to get this banter over with.

"Psh, I know you've checked Alice out, Bella. She's gorgeous, to say the least. I've even checked her out and I'm straight."

"Then you date her, Angela," I shot back at her. She laughs.

"Sorry, I much prefer a burrito to a taco, but seeing as you don't, I think you two should date," I sighed deeply as I leaned forward in my chair, resting my elbows on my knees.

"I'm not dating her, Angela. It wouldn't be fair to Alice or me if I started something up with her. I don't live here. I'm not from here. I have no ties to Forks at all. And besides, how do you know that she doesn't prefer a burrito or a churro or whatever weird ass Mexican food reference you used."

"Wow, you have thought about this," Angela pretends to muse as I bury my face in my hands. "Alright, I'll stop. All I'm saying is, if you really like her I think you should go for it," I stand up and walk over to the window.

"I can't do that," I answer as I stare out the window.

"Why not?" she asks in a frustrated tone catching me off guard. "Every time you go out and meet someone, you have your fun, and by the next morning, you're done with them! You never take a chance on trying to get to know any one of them or even give them a second thought! This is honestly the first time I've seen you even _consider_ the possibility of something more than a one night stand," Angela was waving her hands in the air in overly exaggerated movements as she always did when she was irritated.

She was right though. Every person that I had ever met, I never really thought about again. They had no substance. I didn't want to get to know them at all.

Alice was different. But how?

"It's only been a day with Alice too. How could there be a difference?" I muttered.

"Correction, it's been over twenty-four hours with Alice, and you haven't even slept with her. Usually, these girls only last, what, eight hours and I am being really nice with that estimation. Will you please just stop fighting it and admit that there is just might be something more."

"…I don't want there to be," I whisper quietly. Angela gets off the bed and walks over and stands right in front of me with her arms crossed.

"Why?" she asks, her tone a little more calm and quiet as well.

"People just end up hurting you and leaving you in the end anyway. What's the point in putting yourself through all that pain? Look what happened to my dad. My dad loved my mom, and she left both of us for another guy. He was so hurt by her leaving, yet he continued to love her until the day he died. Fuck love. It's too much of a risk," my tone drips with resentment at my mother. Selfish bitch.

"You know, it's said that love is 'giving someone the ability to destroy you, but trusting them not to'. I think you ought to take that risk. A life without love has no meaning, no direction. You're my best friend, Bella. I want you to be happy. Take a chance with Alice," I open my mouth to interrupt, but she continues. "I'm not saying that she's your one true love and all that, but what I am _asking_ you to do is to try not to fight anything. Don't worry about the complications of distance or her sexuality right now and just relax and see what happens. If something sparks, we'll go from there," I look into Angela's eyes but say nothing. The phrases "don't worry" and "if something sparks" replay in my mind. That's some scary shit. "Promise me, Bella, please," she pleads as she puts her hands on my shoulders and gently squeezes them.

I take a deep breath and look out the window once more before answering.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>Around 8pm-ish, Angela and I started to get dressed to go the club…well she was getting dressed, I was running around the room like a chicken with their head cut off, trying to figure out what to wear.<p>

"Bella, you're still not dressed yet?" Angela says exasperated as she comes out of the bathroom fully dressed.

"I can't decide what to wear!" I was digging through my suitcase, practically throwing clothes everywhere. I was never like this. I never cared what I was wearing yet all of a sudden it mattered. What the fuck?

Angela's eyes soften as she takes in my frantic state. She must think it has something to do with Alice. Hell it probably did. The girl was a fashion photographer and as much as I would love to go out with jeans and a t-shirt, I probably shouldn't.

Angela opens her suitcase and within five seconds, takes out a one-shoulder, navy blue top and throws it at me.

"Here put this on," she bends down and picks up a pair of skinny jeans that I had thrown on the ground earlier. "These too," she hands them over to me. Angela walks to the closet and pulls out a pair of black high heel boots. "And these," she smiles as she completes my ensemble. I don't know how she did that so fast.

"Thank you!" I half shout as I run to the bathroom to finish getting dressed.

"No problem. Gotta look hot for your date, I get it," she yells through the door. This is not a date. She was the one who suggested it. I was merely the messenger for the invitation.

Forget it. There's no use in arguing with her at this point.

Finally all dressed and ready, we all piled in Eric's Tahoe…and by we, I meant all of seven of us: Eric, Angela, Mike, Jessica, Lauren, Tyler and myself…I think I got their names right. I guess Eric had called all their old high school buddies to surprise Angela. I was introduced to everyone as "Angela's old college roommate". I had asked Alice if she wanted to carpool with us but she said that she was having dinner with her family and that she would just meet us there. I guess it was a good thing she declined.

The guy named Mike won't stop hitting on me. It's extremely annoying. Jessica and Lauren are also really annoying. They came off to me as a couple of those "like" and "totally" girls that only talked about themselves and how hot they _thought_ they were. And Tyler is way too into himself. I think he and Lauren are a couple. Figures.

"So Bella, are you going to Arizona State too?" asked Mike. I got stuck sitting next to him. Ugh.

"Nope, Angela and I just went to the University of Arizona together. I didn't go for my Master's like her. I just wanted my degree to get into the FBI." After the UofA, I wanted to move back to Phoenix and Angela conveniently went to ASU there to finish up her Master's. We shared a house about fifteen minutes from the main campus.

"You're in the FBI? That's hot!" said Mike trying to give me his best attempt at a sexy smirk. Gag me. I really didn't want to respond to that so I just nodded. "I was thinking about a job in law enforcement myself, but right now I'm managing a sporting goods store that my family owns."

"You should totally go for it, Mike! I know you could do it!" Jessica spoke up. This girl seriously wants to get with him, and he seems completely oblivious to all of it.

"If like _she_ can do it, then you can. Can't be that hard," sneered Lauren. Ignorant bitch. I shot her a look and she glared back. Brave. She's lucky I can control my temper, at least for the most part, but she better not tempt me. I heard all about her from Angela. Guess she hasn't changed much since high school. Goodie. Hope I don't have to spend too much time together with her this week.

My phone vibrates, saving me (or Lauren) from replying back to her. I smile when I realize it's a text from Alice.

"_Hey I'm already inside the club. Just meet me at the bar :)" _Thank God. At least I won't have to grit my teeth being around flirty Mike or bitchy Lauren. I can focus my attention on her. That won't be a problem.

We get to Club Pearl and eventually get inside. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and blaring music. I recognize the song playing is "Up All Night" by Hinder. At least the music's good if nothing else. I search for the bar and see it on the other side of the room, past the dance floor. I tell Angela that Alice is waiting for us over there, and I start to lead everyone.

I spot her almost immediately sitting at the bar talking to a couple next to her. Her hair was in soft curls that barely brushed the tops of her shoulders. Her small frame well complimented by a laced black halter top with a strapless bright pink under shirt and a short black skirt. She looks amazing.

As if feeling eyes on her, she turned her head spotting us.

"Hey guys!" she exclaims.

"Alice!" Angela leaped forward and gave her a huge hug.

"Hey Angela! It's so good to see you! Hey Bella!" she reaches around to give me a hug too. Wow she smells really good. Strawberries? With a hint of mint? I don't know what it is but it's intoxicating.

"You remember my brother, Emmett and his wife, Rosalie?" I look over at the couple. Emmett was a big, burly guy with short black hair. The look in his eye hinted at a mischievous demeanor. His wife looked like a blonde model. Stunningly beautiful. She looked like the type that I would have normally pursued if Alice wasn't sitting next to her. Alice captivated my attention completely right now.

"You guys are married now? Wow! Congratulations!" They both smiled and thanked her.

"You must be Bella," Emmett grinned. I nodded. Alice talked about me? I looked at him quizzically but he just chuckled. I looked at Rosalie and she appeared to be trying not to smile. "Alice wouldn't stop talking about you at dinner. How was movie night?" Emmett grinned from ear-to-ear.

"Shut up Emmett," Alice said with a clenched jaw. "Sorry Bella. Emmett and I clearly don't share the same DNA, seeing as he doesn't have any manners like I do." I remember her saying something about her and brothers being adopted. She stuck out her tongue at him in a childish manner. I couldn't help but laugh. Looks like they have more in common then she's willing to admit.

"You must be really comfy if Alice fell asleep with you. Well on top of you, I might add," Emmett continued. Rosalie punched his shoulder but she was smiling too. Alice blushed a deep crimson. She's embarrassed. Ok I have to know how much and what she's been saying.

"Excuse my husband, Bella. He has the mental maturity of a four-year-old," Rosalie said.

"I do not!" Emmett said in his best angry toddler voice, crossing his arms in front of his massive chest as if throwing a tantrum. We all threw our heads back in laughter.

Angela turned her attention back to Alice. "It's been what six years since high school! How you been? What have you been up to?"

"I've been good," Alice smiles tells them about her new career.

Angela's jaw dropped when she finished. And Jessica's. And Lauren's. "So what have you been up to?" Alice said quickly trying to redirect their attention.

Angela seemed to get the hint. "I'm working as an intern at a law firm while I finish up my Master's. I'm hoping they'll offer me a permanent position when I graduate."

"That's great! Good luck with that!" Alice turns to me. "So Bella, are you driving tonight?" she grins mischievously.

"Uh no, why?" Stupid question. I know why.

"Cause you're taking a shot. First round is on me," I opened my mouth to object. "This is my way of paying you back for the coffee. Please," she gives me puppy dog eyes and pushes her lip out a little. That is so not fair.

"Alright, alright. As long as you take one with me," I compromise.

"Deal!" she squeaks. She says as she hands me a shot that she had sitting by her the whole time. She was planning this. Shit. This could either prove to be really good or really bad. Either way, fact is I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking but there is no way I can't take a shot. I already agreed.

"Ready?" I nod and we throw are heads back taking the first shot…

**A/N: Hopefully I'll have a new chapter up by Thursday morning! Thanks for the support guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ok ok, I know I said that I was going to try to upload this chapter on Thursday but I ended up being WAY busier than I thought I was going to be. That and I had writer's block like no other. I would get a beta like DawnLeon suggested but honestly, I just wanna see if I could do this on my own. I want to punch out chapters and get them to you as soon as I can.**

**Special thanks to DawnLeon, lynettecullen, WritingFanatic08, and Villemo79 for reviewing every chapter! You guys have no idea how much even a short review helps! It motivates me so much!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters, though I doubt I'd make any money off of this short story anyway.**

**Chapter 5**

"How you feeling?" Alice asks as she hands me my fourth consecutive shot of Patron, her fingers brushing mine in the process. Tingles spring up from the spots that she touched on my hands. I had ignored those things pretty well before but I think those damn feelings are intensified when I drink…uh oh.

"I'm doing alright!" I laugh as we throw our heads back simultaneously drinking the tiny glass of fire down. I was feeling pretty good to say the least. I wasn't drunk yet but I was buzzing pretty bad. If I stop drinking now, I could sober up pretty fast, though…if I drink any more, however, it could take me the rest of the night. Personally, I don't want to get drunk. It's not that I'm a crazy drunk or anything, but I am a brutally honest one.

"You trying to get me drunk, Alice?" I ask her after finally managing to get over the burn in my throat.

"Maybe," she grins mischievously with her face all flushed from the last shot. I smile at how adorable she looks.

Alright, Bella. You can do this. You're not going to act stupid or flirt with Alice. You're going to be calm, cool, and collected. Hey they all start with 'C'!…_Focus!_ Calm, cool, collected. No flirting with Alice.

Wait…didn't I promise Angela I wasn't going to fight anything? Shit.

Ok, change of plan: you're not going to flirt _too much_ with Alice. Nothing over the top. Tequila plus flirting may have gotten you laid in the past but that is not the objective here. Your first objective is to see if she even likes you.

"So you talked about me to your family, huh? What have you been saying?" I inquired.

"Nothing," she stared down at the floor. Lies.

"Mmm hmm. Well do they have cameras in your apartment or something cuz they seemed to know quite a bit of details about last night…down to the position we fell asleep in," a devilish grin spread across my face.

"Do you want another shot?" I smirk at her attempt to avoid the subject. Hmm, she did ask a very good question though. To get drunk or not to? I look up at Alice and see a playfulness in her eyes as she waits for me to answer her question.

Fuck it. It's not like I'll act irrational; I'll just speak truthfully. What harm could come from that?

"Alright," I finally agree.

"Hey you two! Having fun yet?" Angela and Eric come up behind us from the dance floor.

"Hey, we're gonna take another shot. Want one? Eric?"

"Sure, but careful Alice. Bella is a bit of a lightweight when it comes to drinking," Angela giggles. I wasn't about to deny it.

"Oh really? Well that's good since I am too. This will probably be my last shot." Glory hallelujah. I don't wanna be plastered.

Soon, we all have an empty shot glass in our hands with the exception of Eric since he declined being that he is the DD.

Alice and Angela begin talking about I have no clue what. I stopped paying attention getting lost in my own thoughts.

This girl is avoiding every question I throw at her. I still don't know if she has any interest in me beyond friends. I'm used to people I can read in five seconds. I can't do that with her. It's so frustrating yet intriguing all at the same time. Gotta step it up, Swan!

My little inward conversation was interrupted by two high pitched squeals coming from Angela and Alice.

"I love this song!" they both said at the same time. I listen to what song is playing. Oh yea! I remember this song! _Danza Kuduro by Don Omar._ It's off of the "Fast Five" soundtrack. Wait…

Oh no. Please no.

"Bella come dance with me!" Alice jumps off the bar stool as Angela drags Eric out onto the dance floor with the rest of our group.

"You go, Alice. I'll wait here," No. I don't dance.

"Why?" she asks, her eyes pleading. Please don't make me go.

"I don't know how to dance. I have no rhythm." I'm drunk, but not _that _drunk.

"Pleeeeeease," No. Don't do the…damn it. Alice is giving me her puppy eyes. Fuck.

"You know, it's next to impossible to say no to you when you do that…"

"Then stop fighting it! C'mon!" Alice grabs my hand and pulls me out onto the dance floor. Wow her hand is so soft…

Everyone around me is dancing forcing me to make some sort of movements…I wouldn't call what I'm doing "dancing" but whatever. I'm out here.

Lauren and Jessica are grinding up on Tyler and Mike in a very…_suggestive_ manner. Fuck it. Slutty manner. It's the truth. At least Angela's not doing the same thing. Emmett and Rosalie seem to be caught up in their own little world and Alice is dancing with me…not _with me_, with me, but oh well. Hopefully, this will be the only song I have to dance to.

The next song that comes on is "Give Me Everything" by Pitbull and Ne-Yo. The little pixie's face lights up. Crap. Looks like I can't leave now.

Next thing I know, a random guy is dancing up on her from behind. He grabs her hand and flips her around to face him. I feel myself get a little annoyed but I'm just gonna wait and see how she reacts to it.

Of course, now I'm dancing by myself. Great.

I look at Alice and she's giving me a look…is that a _wanting_ look I see? Screw it. I'm gonna say it is and go for it, and if it's not, I'm blaming it on the _a-a-a-a-a-alcohol. Blame it on the vodka; blame it on the henny. Blame it on the blue top. Got you feeling dizzy_ …damn it Bella! You're too easily distracted.

I'm gonna steal her away from him and make her dance with me. Fuck it. See what happens.

I look at her again and I see that the guy is getting really touchy, feely with her. His hands keep roaming up and down her back. Then he places one of his hands on her ass, and Alice immediately swats it away. Good.

She turns to me once more and mouths the words "Help me". Sweet! I listen to the current part and grin. Oh I am so going to be cheesy right now.

The song said _"Grab somebody sexy, tell 'em 'Hey!'" _and I reached for Alice's hand and pulled her to me. "Hey!" I smiled. She busted up laughing.

"Thanks for saving me from him! He smelled really bad, and he started to get kinda grabby!"

"You don't have to make up an excuse, Alice. You know you wanted to dance with me," I winked at her. Ahh, the liquid courage. _Blame it on the Patron, got you in the zone. Blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol. _See that song does fit perfectly! I could act this cocky with any other girl, just not her.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. "Hey you. I was dancing with her," said the same pathetic guy that was dancing with Alice earlier.

"Congratulations. I don't know what you expect me do with that piece of information," I said with all sincerity. Alcohol in system = no filter.

He grabs her arm. Oh fuck no.

"You stole her from me! Get your own dance partner!" he looked angry. Ha! That's funny because I don't give a shit. He had his chance with Alice. And I don't plan on giving her up that easily.

I grip my hand around his wrist attached to the hand that he has on Alice. Hard. He better let go if he wants to keep that hand attached...

"No. Stealing implies ownership which I am completely sure you don't have over her so I suggest you let go right now," I got right in his face and stared him right in the eye, challenging him. Damn he really does smell.

He lets go of her arm, not before muttering, "Fucking dyke".

"Go shower dickhead," I retorted. Alice bit her lip trying not to laugh as he skulked away.

"Bella!" Alice laughed.

"What? You didn't want to dance with him, and he wouldn't go away. I was forced to go into bitch mode to emphasize my point," she just shook her head, suppressing a grin. "And he grabbed you! Your arm and your ass! No one needs to be grabbing you."

"What, except you?" she challenged, crossing her arms.

"I've never grabbed you!" I defended myself.

"Too bad," she says. I raise my eyebrow, stunned by her response. She squeezes her eyes shut and bites down on her lip. "I just said that out loud didn't I?" I nod. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be back," and she left before I could respond.

_"Too bad"_? Whoa. And she didn't mean to say that either.

Oh my God. She's into me.

What is this warm and tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach? Wait…do I have butterflies?

I gotta go talk to Alice.

"Hey! Bella!" I turn to see the blonde bombshell standing behind me.

"Rosalie, hey! Where's uh your husband?" yes I did momentarily forget his name. Don't blame me. My mind was elsewhere.

"Emmett's getting us drinks. Where's Alice?" Emmett, right.

"Uh she's in the bathroom," I was about to go talk to her… "What's up?"

"Alice told me she talked to you about James after your run in with him," James…that fucker. "Yeah I know. I wanna castrate him too. Trust me," Guess my resentment for him was shown on my face. Oh well. "I just wanted to thank you for staying with her and trying to make her feel better."

"No problem. I'm happy I could help," I turned to go look for Alice.

"You know she likes you, right?" I heard Rosalie say. What? I turn around and give her a puzzled look."She lights up when she talks about you, and she blushes when Emmett hints at anything to do with you." Alice is so cute when she blushes. "And she wouldn't shut up to me about how excited she was to come here tonight. I realize that you guys just met—" yea yesterday… "—but I've never seen her act this way with anyone…especially a girl." I was stunned silent.

"I'm telling you this because Angela told me you liked Alice and that you weren't sure about how she felt about you," Oh Angela…never have I had more mixed feelings toward Angela then this moment. "But if you use any of this information I have given you to take advantage of her, know that I will hunt you down and I will hurt you." Rosalie had a completely serious look in her eye. She's really protective over Alice.

"I like you!" I smiled at her and put my hand on her shoulder. Total respect for Rosie right now. She laughed and turned to walk away but not before doing the "I'm watching you" signal that DeNiro does in "Meet the Parents". Something tells me that Rosie and I will be getting along just fine.

Ok now to find Alice.

I looked in the bathroom, and Alice is not in there. I go back to the bar; not there either. I walk around the dance floor. Nope. Alice is nowhere to be found. Strange.

"Rose, have you seen Alice?" I ask starting to get a little concerned.

"I thought you said she was in the restroom?"

"That's where she said she was going, but she's not in there," where's the little pixie? Rose reaches for her phone to call her. My concern intensifies when she I notice that Alice didn't pick up.

"I'll go get Emmett and we'll help you look for her," I nod my head and start looking for her.

Talk about a buzz kill. I felt completely sober right now, and more and more nervous with each passing second that we didn't find Alice.

I walk back into the bathroom and find Jessica and Lauren. "Hey, have you guys seen Alice anywhere?"

"No we haven't. Thought she was like with you?" said Jessica.

"What did you like hit on the midget and scare her away, dyke?" Lauren glared at me in the mirror while fixing her make-up. What is up with everyone using "dyke" as an insult tonight? Can't they come up with something more original?

"Lauren, if I were you, I wouldn't waste any more time in front of the mirror. Make-up may help, but it doesn't perform miracles," I said with a smile and walked out of the restroom to continue my search.

My eyes ran over all the faces of the people in the club and spotted the smelly dude dancing with Alice earlier. Now I gotta ask him if he knows where Alice is? Lovely.

"Have you seen the girl you were dancing with earlier?" I asked him.

"You mean the girl you stole from me?" he smirked, as if he had an upper hand now. Wait. Why would he think that unless he knew where she was?

"We are not gonna start that again. Where is she?" my voice stern.

"Well seems like neither of us could keep her, seeing as she left out the back way with another guy," he grinned.

"Hey Laurent! C'mon man, we're leaving," one of his buddies called after him. He started to head towards them till I put a firm hand on his chest to stop him.

"What guy? What did he look like and when did they leave?" I questioned him. He noted the seriousness in my eyes and tone.

"I don't know. He was tall, about 6 foot or so. Short blonde hair, black jacket. He was talking to her like he knew her and she seemed kinda upset. They left less than five minutes ago. Look I don't know anything else. I gotta go," Laurent turned and left, leaving me to process, and then a horrible realization flashed into my head…

_James._

**A/N: Muahahahaha! Cliffhangers! Every author's best friend and every reader's nightmare. **

**Bet you guys saw that one coming though. Didn't make it very hard to figure out. Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Alright cliff hanger over! Ok so i took your advice and i got someone i trust to be my beta so to speak MnM91. She's brutally honest with me in all aspects of my life so i trust her judgment. Without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 6**

James. James has Alice. Oh my God. I was frozen in place unable to move with the same thought reoccurring in my mind over and over.

I gotta find her. Now.

Heading in the direction of the back door, I repeated 'excuse me' several times while running in between people, and almost running over others. No I was not about to apologize to the ones that didn't get out of my way fast enough. Bitches needed to move. I had to get to Alice. That was the only thing on my mind.

I see the back door open in the distance, and I caught a glimpse of him. James. His icy stare shot to me as the door closed again right as I reached it. I pushed the heavy metal door open once more, expecting to see him…_hoping_ to see him so I could beat the shit outta him, but James was gone…as if he vanished in thin air. But I saw something that made a wave of relief wash over me: Alice standing over by the dumpster.

I go to her and rub my hands over her shoulders for more of a reassurance to me that she's real and not an object of my imagination. "Alice? What are you doing out here? Where's James?" I question her with a concerned tone. _I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch._

"I don't know. He took off," She looked a bit disoriented, possibly from the alcohol, but okay.

"What were you doing out here with him in the first place?"

"James cornered me as I got out of the bathroom. I started to feel sick, and he led me out here. I tried to go back inside to get back to you, but he wouldn't let me. All of a sudden, he disappeared, and the next thing I know, you showed up."

I let out a breath that I guess I had been holding. Rage was still coursing through me from the fact that he had gotten to her. He could've harmed her but yet he didn't do anything to her? Why? Why bring Alice out in the middle of an alley then disappear?

And James had seen me. Why not take Alice with him? I feel as if he's toying with me. That just made me angrier.

I pulled out my phone and sent Rose a text message telling her that I had found Alice.

"You came looking for me?" I looked up from my phone at Alice and she had on an expression I didn't recognize. That, combined with her question confused me.

"Of course I did. I was looking for you to talk to you about what you had meant by what you said to me," which I still intend on asking about. "But when I didn't find you I got worried." Alice kept staring at me but said nothing more. Why would it surprise her so much that I would be looking for her?

"Alice!" I turn to see Rose running down the alleyway towards us with Emmett right behind her. "What are you doing out here?"

"James lured her out here," I spat.

"James? Your old boyfriend, James?" Emmett asked confused. Smooth, Bella. Emmett doesn't know about the whole fuckhead James situation. Good one.

Rosalie shot me a look before Alice answered, "Yeah, I guess he's back in town. Caught me by surprise too." Luckily, Emmett accepted the answer and asked no more on the subject. She wasn't technically lying but it still confused me why Alice was so adamant about keeping this from him. Whatever. Not my place to ask.

"Well, let's go back inside. It's getting cold," Emmett led the three of us back inside the club.

"I need a drink," I muttered, still fuming about the whole situation and headed to the bar, leaving the others. I need to calm myself. The adrenaline was still rushing through my system and it didn't help my temper at all. And I was painfully sober now. I ordered a 7-up shooter and sat on the bar stool.

James's actions confused me. I hated being confused. It infuriated me. In the line of work that I'm in, you would think I would be used to confusion and having unanswered questions but the difference here was that back home, if I had questions, I usually had a course of action in order to obtain answers. In this situation, I had no clue where to start…or if there was even a place to start.

And in this situation, my emotions were involved.

The bartender came back with my shot and I downed it instantly.

I wasn't fighting it anymore. I cared for Alice. God knows why I developed feelings so quickly but I did. I'm not in love with her or anything. That was absurd. I just cared. Deeply. And I could have lost her all together. Why didn't I just follow her to the bathroom? _You didn't know what was going to happen. Don't blame yourself, Swan._ No. I should've gone anyway. This could have all been prevented.

And why was she so shocked that I was worried about her? Why wouldn't I be? Was there something I did that would lead her to believe that I didn't?

Fuck me.

I ordered another shooter and closed my eyes trying to relax.

"You alright buddy?" I didn't need to open my eyes to know Angela was right beside me. She took a seat in the stool next to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to get my buzz back." I mumbled. Angela said nothing for a moment and just studied me.

"That shit with Alice scared the hell outta you, didn't it?" she asked. I just nodded. "In more ways than one?" I simply buried my head into my hands and groaned.

"You know me so well, it's frightening," I say through my hands.

"I've just been living with someone that works in law enforcement for the past few years. Tend to pick up a few things, like being observant."

"Smartass," I tell her. Angela just smirked.

The bartender came back with my second shooter not before I felt an electric current shoot from my shoulder down my spine.

Guess who.

"You ok?" says the musical voice. My muscles relax slightly at the sound of her voice. Utter betrayal. My body recognizes my feelings for her more than my brain does.

"Why do I feel like you should be asking yourself that question right now?" I tell the pixie.

"Gee I don't know. I'm not the one sitting at the bar looking stressed out and drinking," she shot back. Touché, pretty lady. Touché.

"Oh look Eric's out of the bathroom. I'm gonna get back to him," Angela said clearly wanting to leave us alone. She hopped off the stool, allowing Alice to take her place, and winked at me before walking off.

"Want a 7-up shooter?" Alice just gave me a puzzled look. "It's a shot of tequila with lime juice and a splash of 7-up," I explained. She agreed and I ordered her one as well.

We said nothing to each other. I didn't even look at her as I took the shot.

"Another?" I asked as soon as the burn left my throat.

"Bella," Alice put her hand on my arm. I still didn't look at her. "I think you should stop."

"Why? I'm not even drunk," I wasn't lying. I still felt sober. I think the adrenaline was burning all the alcohol before it could take effect.

"It doesn't matter. You've had a lot to drink tonight. You should stop before you get sick," her hand still sat on my arm with her thumb moving back and forth in a caressing motion. Tingles danced on the spot sending my nerves in a frenzy.

I looked up at her and met her gaze. Again, I came across an expression on her face that I didn't understand. _I cannot read this girl!_

"Why were you surprised that I would come looking for you?" I blurted out. Hmm I may not feel drunk but I guess my filter is still gone.

Alice hesitated for a moment before answering. "I thought that you would be weirded out by what I said…"

My eyebrows furrowed together before I raised one of them to show my bewilderment. "Uh why would I be weirded out? Did you mean it?"

She hesitated once more. "Yes." _She meant it._

"Then why would I be weirded out?"

"How am I supposed to know if you're into me or girls in general for that matter? I've never been attracted to any girl before then you come along and _BAM!_ You intrigued me right away and I had to be near you. Anytime I touch you, I feel these little tingles run up and down my skin. It's all really confusing…And why are you smiling at me like that?" Alice asked finally finishing her rant. I guess I had been smiling the entire time.

And I thought _I_ didn't have a filter when I drank.

She had feelings for me too. I couldn't help but smile. All the anger I felt before simply vanished, and all that was left was pure joy. I wanted to fist pump in the air in sheer victory but I held it in.

Instead, I jumped off the bar stool and stood in front of her. "Come dance with me," I told her as I nodded my head toward the dance floor.

"Aren't we going to talk about this?"

"We will if you dance with me," I insisted.

Alice tilted her head slightly in confusion. "I thought you didn't like to dance?"

"You do," I shrugged. "Dance with me," I persisted and held out my hand to her. She narrowed her eyes for a moment as if she was suspicious of my actions then took my hand. I smiled slyly at the hesitation in her movements.

_"Suavemente" _by Elvis Crespo is playing while I pull her out to the middle of the dance floor. I grin at my luck. Old school Latino music is the only kind of music I kinda know what I'm doing with.

Thank you Hispanic chicks back in Tucson that were stubborn enough to try and teach me how to dance to Spanish music!

I grabbed one of Alice's hands and put it behind my neck while I wrapped one of my hands around her waist to pull her closer. I began to lead her and move to the rhythm of the song.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?" Shivers went straight down my spine as she whispered in my ear.

"I can't. But I can fake it a bit to merengue." I explained. Plus I've had a few shots that are starting to hit me a little bit.

A few moments passed before Alice spoke again. "So you got me out here. Are we going to talk?" sounding more like a demand rather than a question. I feel a small burn in the pit of my stomach from her tone. As previously discovered, dominant Alice is _hot._

I spin her away from me and spin her back into me with her back against me now, her body molding perfectly against mine.

"I am attracted to women, Alice," I confess to her, my eyes boring into hers. "And those tingles," I brush my fingers across her cheek, and she closes her eyes to the contact. "I feel them too."

It can't be liquid courage that's allowing me to admit to all these things. She came clean with her feelings; it's only fitting that I did the same.

I spun her around once more so that she was facing me. This time I place both of her hands around my neck so I could cup her cheek with the hand that wasn't around her waist.

"You dazzle me. I've never met another person I've been pulled to the way you pull me. There's something about you that keeps me wanting more," I brush my thumb over her lips. "And if you let me, I intend to figure it out." I lean in slightly for a kiss.

"Eww, I totally hope I'm interrupting something because, like, Bella, it's time to go," Lauren barges in before I could kiss Alice. I glared daggers at her. _This bitch. _

I seriously wonder how many people would actually miss Lauren if I made her disappear. I highly doubt there would be that many.

"Why?" I grumbled at her, taking a step back from Alice. I immediately missed being so close to her.

"Mike is totally puking up everywhere."

"Again, why the fuck is that my problem?" he can't hold his liquor. Congratu-fucking-lations.

"Because like Eric is his ride home, along with yours, so you come with us or you're gonna have to walk home," Lauren smirked. I'm sure she would love the idea of my ass hitchhiking.

"We can give you a ride home, Bella," Alice grabbed a hold of my hand, intertwining our fingers and smiled.

"Aww, how sweet. You can get a ride home from your like, life partner." Alice began to tug on my hand, leading me away, sensing that my patience was wearing thin.

Hmm. I would love the idea of shoving this high-heeled boot up her ass…though I don't want my boot catching an STD…

"Hope Mike throws up all over you on the ride home," I whispered to Lauren as I was pulled passed her.

"Like, even with puke all over me, I'll still totally be hotter than you."

I stopped and turned to face her once more, Alice tugged on my hand harder, afraid that I'll be tempted to hit her…_very tempted._ "Oh Lauren, bless your heart. But even with vomit all over you, you still won't be close to good-looking…although, it would make a vast improvement," I commented. Alice bit her lip hard to resist bursting into laughter.

She's a lot nicer than I am.

"Bella!" Alice giggled.

"What? Lauren's a stupid bitch. I don't know how you guys managed to put up with her all through high school and not beat her ass. Shit, I've only known her for a few hours, and I'm dying to pummel her already," she just laughed. I glanced at her and gave her a small smile, happy to see her relaxed around me again.

We walked over to the bar again where everyone except Eric and Mike were standing. Angela and Rosalie were the first to see Alice and my hands interlocked. Rosalie smiled and Angela gave a knowing grin and winked.

"Rose, is it alright if we give Bella a ride home?" Alice asked before Rose nodded.

"What you don't want Bella to spend the night again, Alice?" Emmett teased. She glared at him but had a small smile tugging at her lips, betraying her anger. I squeezed her hand lightly for support.

"No, I'll sleep at the hotel tonight," I answered Emmett.

"Yeah, you probably should 'cause I doubt you'll get any sleep if you stay with Alice," Emmett winked, flashing his teeth in a wide grin that spread from ear-to-ear.

Rosalie smacked him in the back of the head again. "Leave them alone, Emmett."

"Bella, you have a key to the room? I'm going to stay at Eric's tonight," Angela informed me. I nodded.

We were all silent in the car, listening to "Chasing Pavements" by Adele playing softly on the radio. Alice and I were seated in the back seat of the car. She was much more at ease now; her head was resting comfortably on my shoulder.

When we arrived at the hotel, Alice got out of the car with me. She looked nervous; not really knowing what to expect.

"Alice I was wondering if I could take you on a date tomorrow?" I brushed a stray hair that had fallen behind her ear.

"What did you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise," I grinned mischievously. She agreed and I kissed her hand. "I'll call you tomorrow," I whispered as I laid one more kiss on her cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I am so sorry for taking so long to update this chapter! The last 3 months of the year are always the busiest for me. I was in my friend's wedding, I went on vacation, got another tattoo all while going to school and working two jobs. And one of those jobs is in retail so I am definitely not looking forward to this Friday…Black Friday.**

**Anyway to answer some of your questions, yes, this is an all-human story but I just started another Bellice story, "When Fire Meets Ice", that's not all-human. So if you have time, check that one out too please. **

**Chapter 7**

Back at the hotel room, I poured over my laptop trying to figure out what in the hell I was going to do for a date…in Forks, Washington. When I said it was a surprise, it was mainly because I had no fucking clue what I was going to do yet.

That's what I get for being a tourist and asking a local out on a date. Way to go.

I could just take her to dinner and a movie…

No. Not for a first date. Too overdone. I wanted to do something special…plus we had already done the whole movie thing…granted it wasn't really a date and, we didn't really admit our feelings to each other (or ourselves) at the time.

I wonder how much differently it would have played out otherwise…

Nope. Back to the task at hand. If I start thinking about that, God knows I won't stop.

It was nearly four in the morning before I had even started having an idea about what we were going to do. The only thing I could come up with was a scenic hike around Lake Crescent. Angela had told me about some pretty waterfalls that were there. I could pack a lunch or something and tell Alice to take a bathing suit…

…Alice in a bikini…

Yup, I've made up my mind. That's what we'll do.

* * *

><p>It's 10AM…too early to call her? I didn't tell her what time I would be calling and with this whole swimming thing we would need to leave early...<p>

Fuck it. I'm calling now.

_"Hello?" _her voice doesn't sound groggy. Good sign.

"Good morning. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

_"Nope. You're good. I've actually been awake for awhile."_

"Great! So you still up for our date?" my stomach drops a little at the possibility of rejection. She might have just agreed because she was drunk—

_"Of course! That's actually why I woke up so early. I was excited,"_ I could practically hear Alice smiling over the phone. _"Are you gonna tell me what we're doing?"_

"I guess I kinda have to. We're going hang out at Lake Crescent so make sure you pack a swimsuit," I grinned.

_"You just wanna see me in a bikini,"_ Alice teased.

Damn straight. "Well yeah, but I needed an excuse. I wanted it to look like I was taking it slow for our first date," I laughed.

_"Do I get to see you in yours?" _her response takes me by surprise.

"Maybe…if you're good." I grinned.

I knocked on the door at around one with my heart pounding from how nervous I was. On my way over I felt too…I don't know…_plain_ I guess, just showing up on her doorstep in a tank top, jeans and comfortable sneakers. I know I was dressed appropriately for our date but damn, still. So I picked up a bouquet of white calla lilies to make me look good somewhat.

As bad as this sounds, I know how to get laid, not how to take girls out on dates. Angela was right about me. I don't really know how to interact with a girl after the next morning…

The door opens and I'm immediately blinded by a flash of white light and a small giggle.

"Whoa, what was that?" I questioned, still blinking a few times trying to regain my eyesight. When I could finally see, I saw Alice standing there with a camera. _Damn. Even in outdoorsy type clothes, she looks sexy._

"Sorry! I just had to take a picture!" Right. She's a professional photographer. "You don't mind if I take my camera on our hike, do you? I've never actually gotten a chance to go to that lake," Alice smiled sheepishly. How could I deny her anything?

"Of course not. But if you're going to take any pictures of me, it can only be on my right side. That's my good side. Deal?" I tried looking serious but I could feel the corners of my mouth slightly turning up in a small smile.

She laughed her beautiful laugh. "Deal." I was so hypnotized by her laugh and her smile that I had completely forgot about the flowers that I was holding behind my back.

"Oh, these are for you," I held out the lilies to her. Alice's emerald eyes lit up as she took in the sight of the bouquet.

"Oh my God! They're beautiful! How did you know calla lilies were my favorite?" _They're her favorite?_ Sweet!

"Lucky guess," I smirked, proud of myself. "To be completely honest, I've never given a girl flowers before."

"Well, I've never actually _been_ _given_ flowers before…" Alice said as she walked back to her kitchen to find a vase.

Wait…what?

"You're joking right?" She's got to be kidding.

"No I really haven't. No guy I've ever dated has ever given me a single flower…well except for my corsage for prom. " Assholes. Even _I_ know a girl should given flowers. Idiots.

"Well they are officially on my shit list," I mumbled. Alice giggled. "They should've spoiled you. You're apartment should've always had a fresh arrangement of flowers."

"That sounds like a lot of work."

"A person should work hard to keep you," I locked eyes with her.

_Was I willing to work to keep her?_

I shook my head trying to rid the thought. Too soon to think about that. One day at a time, Swan.

"You ready to head out?" I asked her as I nodded my head towards the door.

"Yea, do we need to take my car?"

"Psh, no. I asked you out on a date. How bad would it look on me if I had to use your car to take you out?" I laughed. "No, I rented a truck."

* * *

><p>We headed out to the truck that I decided to rent for the rest of the week: a black 2011 Chevy Silverado. I held the door open for her and lent her a hand as she climbed in.<p>

"I kinda figured you were a truck person," Alice said as we drove off.

"Oh really?"

"Yea, but I saw you in more of an older model, you know. Rusted, red paint with dented fender and creaking doors," she teased.

"Nice description," I laughed. "Actually, I'm more of a street bike type of girl."

"Wait. Are you telling me you have a motorcycle back home?" I nodded. Come to think of it, I'm starting to miss my baby. "I've never been on a motorcycle before…"

"Well if you ever go to Phoenix, I'll give you ride," I smiled at her.

After a moment of silence, I chuckled at an amusing realization.

"What's so funny?" Alice asked.

"You've never liked a girl, never been to the lake, never been given flowers, never ridden a motorcycle. I'm taking your virginity for a lot of things," _hopefully it doesn't stop there. _No! Bad thought! Slow it down. "You're so cute and innocent and inexperienced," I cooed as I playfully pinched her cheek.

The little pixie slapped my hand away. "I am not inexperienced, and I sure as hell am not _that _innocent." I bit my lip at the statement. _I would love to see that side._ "Cute was the only part that was truthful in that whole sentence," she smirked.

For the rest of the drive, Alice and I continued on with pointless conversations. Sometimes, though we would sit in comfortable silence and just listen to the music coming over the radio. It was during those moments, that I would steal a glance or two at her. She was just so beautiful.

I finally mustered up enough courage to reach over and hold her hand. Little waves of tingles took over my hand. I guess Alice felt the sensation as well because she let out a tiny gasp. She looked over and gave me a small smile. She began moving her thumb back and forth, caressing my hand.

We got to a dirt road that cut through the middle of the forest and it was not really well maintained to say the least. Really happy I rented the truck right now.

"You glad we didn't your precious little Porsche now?" I asked trying to avoid a big hole in the road but catching another one instead.

"Just a little bit."

When we got to the edge of the lake, I parked the truck and looked around. The lake was a deep turquoise blue and was lined with tall, luscious green trees along the banks. The water was so clear that it looked like a mirror for the mountains and the sky. There wasn't as much sun as I would have hoped but it wasn't raining and being that it was the Pacific Northwest, I'll work with what I can get. But even with all the dark clouds in the sky, it didn't take one ounce of beauty away from the place.

"It's so beautiful," Alice whispered walking up by my side, taking pictures.

I grabbed two backpacks and stuck a few water bottles and some other things in them from the ice chest in the back of the truck.

"I hate to ask but can you carry one of these backpacks please?" I call to her.

"What's in them?"

"Just some towels and water bottles," I answer, holding the lighter one out to her. "C'mon. The waterfalls are over this way."

After a short hike, we reached the falls and I found a little path that led to a little, shallow cave behind the waterfall. It even had a large boulder where you could sit and just watch the water cascade down which made lights bounce off the wall in interesting patterns.

I offered Alice a seat and gave her a water bottle.

"We can leave our stuff in here. Let's go swimming," I said as stood up and turned around to give her some privacy. I stripped down to my black bikini that I was wearing underneath. Once I had folded my clothes, I turned around to set them next to my backpack and saw Alice in her little white bikini.

My jaw dropped slightly, taking in the sight. She had a petite frame and her muscles were pleasantly defined. I was surprised that I had never noticed that before. Her skin was pale but not in a sickly sort of way. It was almost as if the paleness suited her. The lights in the cave were dancing off her in such a way that it made it look like she was made of diamonds. It made her seem more beautiful, if that was possible.

"What?" Alice asked with what looked like a knowing smirk. _She has to know what she does to me._

"Nothing, umm, you uh…just look amazing," oh hell no. We are not starting up with the stuttering again.

"Thank you." I looked at over at the mouth of the cave with the water falling down and at Alice and back again. I felt a mischievous grin spread across my face.

"Ali, how are you with heights?" I ask as I walk over to her.

"Uh, good. Why?" her eyebrows furrow, confused and suspicious of my question.

"Good, you might wanna hold your breath," I whisper in her ear. Before she can react, I pick her up in a bridal style, run to the mouth of the cave and jump through the wall of water, revealing a 20 foot drop to the lake below. I hold my breath and brace myself for impact, hearing Alice scream the whole way down.

I swim up to the surface and gasp for air, only to be splashed in the face.

"What the hell?" Alice shrieked. All I could do was laugh and shield myself from the splashes. "You scared me! I had no idea what the hell you were doing when you picked me up like that!"

"Aww, c'mon Ali. You can't tell me you didn't have fun. That was one hell of an adrenaline rush," I chuckled.

"You still should have told me," she pouted. I couldn't help but smile. She looked so cute when she was angry.

"You angry with me, Alice?" I swam closer to her.

"Get away from me," I continued to swim closer. She splashed me again, telling me to get away from her until she started swimming away, laughing as I swam after her. That little pixie was a fast swimmer because she was already out of the water just as I was reaching the beach. I was a faster runner though and I soon caught up to her. I tackled her to the ground and started tickling her like crazy.

"You still mad at me, huh?" I asked her as I was torturing her with tickles.

"Yes," she managed to say defiantly in between laughs. _Oh really._

"How about now?" I continued. "Huh?" Alice held out for a few more seconds, squirming and laughing underneath me, until she finally caved.

"No, I'm not mad at you! Stop! Please!" she said in the midst of her laughter. I stopped tickling her to just let her breathe for a sec, and I laid next to her on my side. Her eyes which had been closed the whole time I was attacking her, opened, revealing the pools of emerald green. They fixated on mine for a few moments before traveling down to look at my lips.

It was at that moment that I realized just how close my face was to hers again. My own eyes gazed at her lips. I wanted to kiss her so badly but I wanted to give her a choice. My heart began racing and I brought up my hand to brush her cheek slightly. I leaned in about half way and stopped. Without hesitation, Alice closed the gap between us and crushed her lips to me, molding perfectly with mine. My hand cupped her cheek, while hers grabbed my waist, subconsciously pulling me closer. The tingles exploded from our lips and sent shivers down my spine and ended right at my core.

Reluctantly, we had to pull away for air. Her breath was shaky but as was mine. I tried to think of something smooth to say but the only word that would leave my mouth was,

"Wow," '_Wow'. So eloquent, Bella. Really romantic. _Alice only nodded her head and giggled.

We laid there for a few more moments catching our breaths before going back out on the lake again. We even jumped off of the cliff a couple more times and she managed to take pictures of me doing it. _I gotta have one of those pictures when they get developed._

One of the times that we were out on the shore, I heard a low rumbling noise. I turn back to see what it was and Alice is standing there, clutching her stomach.

"Was that your stomach?" I asked incredulously, her musical laughter ringing through my ears. "C'mon and let's get you fed before that thing eats you from the inside out," I grab her hand and lead her back up to the cave.

"Are we going out to eat?" she asks as I hand her a towel and start digging through my backpack.

"No, we're eating here," she raises an eyebrow in confusion. Out of the backpack, I pull out a large blanket, four sandwiches and a large bag of Doritos.

"I thought you said there were only towels and water bottles in those bags."

"I lied," I handed her a sandwich. "I know this isn't a five-star restaurant, but I figured…"

"It's perfect," she interrupted, smiling at me and started eating her sandwhich.

"Oh I almost forgot!" I grabbed the other backpack and pulled out two plastic cups and bottle of white wine that was still cold from being frozen. Alice merely shook her head when I handed her a cupful of wine. "Cheers," I grinned as we hit our plastic cups together.

When we finished the sandwiches and more than half the bag of chips, I reached for the backpack again. "And for desert," I pulled out a small Tupperware container and handed it to her. "Open it."

She pulled back the lid, and there sat a container full of chocolate-covered strawberries. I picked one of them up and held it to her mouth. Her eyes locked onto mine as she took a bite.

"Mmm, that's really good," she said. "I can't believe you did all this."

"Do you like it? Did I do good?" she shook her head. _Damn what did I do wrong?_

"You did amazing. Thank you," I grinned triumphantly as my shoulders sank in relief.

I grabbed my cup of wine and leaned back on the boulder. The little beauty situated herself between my legs, leaned her back on my chest, and rested her head on my shoulder. I let my arm wrap loosely around her waist. We sat there in blissful silence, feeding each other strawberries and listening and watching the water fall.

I nuzzled my nose in her neck, savoring the scent of strawberries and mint that emitted from her. I laid a soft trail of kisses from the bottom of her ear to the tip of her shoulder. I enjoyed every moment of peace I had with her till it was time to head back.

* * *

><p>It was dark by the time I dropped her off at her apartment. She gave me the usual cliché lines that she had a great time but from the way she was looking at me, I believed her. I softly cupped her cheek and gave her a small chaste kiss.<p>

"I'll call you tomorrow," I promised.

"You better," she said trying to sound tough and serious. I chuckled at her attempt and kissed her one last time, as she disappeared into her apartment.

_Success!_

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks for being so patient with me! I promise not to take so long again next time!**

**Happy Thanksgiving!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Please don't hate me. I know it's been a really, really…really long time since I've updated this story. I have valid reasons though I'm pretty sure you don't wanna hear them.**

**I know I probably lost a great deal of my followers due to my long absence but for those of you who have stuck with me: thank you so much.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 8. Finally.**

Chapter 8

After some persuading, I had convinced Angela to just stay over with Eric. I knew she missed him and hated leaving his side for any reason…even if it was because the day was over. Her whole argument was that she felt bad for leaving me while we were supposed to be on vacation together. But once I told her I could just hang out with Alice, she shut up quickly and a smug grin appeared across her face. Angela agreed with me without saying another word.

For the next couple days after our first date, Alice and I were hanging out quite a bit. If I wasn't over at her apartment, she was over at the hotel room. I had taken her out to eat and last night, I took her to the theater to watch _Friends with Benefits_.

Today was just a lazy day for us. It was cloudy out with the sky threatening to unleash a torrential downpour so we were just lounging around her apartment. I was lying on the couch with one hand behind my head and the other laying on Alice's waist. She was cuddled up next to me with her head on my chest and her arm lying lazily across my stomach.

We were watching some stupid show on the fashion channel that Alice wanted to watch. Of course, at first, I refused to watch it but she gave me those cute puppy dog eyes knowing I wouldn't be able to resist.

I learned it was hard to not to give Alice anything she wanted…especially if she gave you those puppy eyes. I even entertained the idea of Alice giving the criminals I interrogated those eyes but I quickly dismissed it after realizing she'd have to come near murders and rapists. Fuck that. I was not about to let any danger come near her. I was extremely protective of her already and couldn't bear the thought of letting anything or anyone hurt her.

James would enter my thoughts occasionally and I would silently pray that I would see him soon so that I could beat his ass.

As soon as the credits started rolling, my stomach let out a huge growl.

"Hungry?" she asked looking up at me.

"No, I think it's just happy that the show is finally over," I said as Alice giggled into the crook of my neck. I suppressed a shiver.

"Do you want me to make something?"

"No, I've been craving pizza. You opposed to that?" I asked as I got up off the couch.

"Actually, pizza sounds great. You wanna go out to eat or order in?" she asked. I looked her over and laughed.

"I think I'll just go pick it up. You take forever to get ready and I'm hungry now," Alice gave me a mock glare and stuck out her tongue as I grabbed her hands to pull her up from the couch. "I need to return the Redbox movies before I forget again anyway. They're already a few days late," I remembered and grabbed my sweater and the keys to my truck off the table. "Do you want me to pick another one up?"

"Sure," Alice replied as she walked in to the kitchen and began piling dishes into the dishwasher. "Get a scary one," she winked. I smirked recalling the first time we watched a scary movie together. It's crazy how much things can change in less than a week.

I walked up behind her and pulled her by her waist so that her back was pressed up against me. "I'll be right back," I whispered in her ear. I kissed her cheek and her shoulder before heading out the door.

As I was walking to my truck I pulled out my phone and found the number to a Pizza Hut nearby. I ordered two medium pizzas before even turning on the truck. They told me it would take about fifteen minutes and according to the navigation, it would only take me ten to get there. _Just enough time to get a Redbox movie._

On the way to Circle K, I couldn't help but think about last night. Even though it was drizzling, the weather was nice and relaxing, and after the movie, we had went for a little walk around the block just talking.. Conversations flowed easily between us, but even when we were silent, the moment was never awkward. We just enjoyed each other's company. We never really focused on one particular topic, but last night, Alice was adamant about getting me to open up about myself.

"_Tell me about your family. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked, her green eyes swirling with curiosity. That's the thing that still stumped me about Alice. She always seemed to have a genuine interest about what I had to say. Every time I spoke, I actually felt like I was being listened to. It surprised me that I had her attention…especially for someone as energetic as she was. _

"_I don't have any siblings. I'm an only child."_

"_Did your parents spoil you?" she teased._

_I grimaced. "Not exactly."_

"_What are your parents like?"_

"_Were," I answered before I could stop myself._

"_Oh, I'm sorry, Bella," I nodded, not saying more. "We don't have to talk about this -" _

"_No, its ok," I interrupted her. "I want to tell you…it's just a little difficult," Alice reached for my hand that wasn't holding the umbrella and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I smiled at the small action, enjoying the tingling sensation that spread across my skin from the gesture. _

_I took a deep breath and bit my lip, unsure of where to start. Alice waited patiently, not rushing me. "My mother left me and my dad, Charlie, when I was nine. Actually, she took off with Charlie's partner to be exact," I spat out in disgust. After a moment I continued. "Charlie took it pretty hard, but he raised me on his own as best he could after that. He worked as a cop for the city of Phoenix. One of the best, too," I smiled slightly. "He worked a lot and when he couldn't find a babysitter, I would hang around the station with the other officers. I learned a lot from everyone. That's actually how I got interested in working in law enforcement in the first place," Alice smiled, but said nothing, waiting for me to continue._

"_The summer before my senior year in high school, I applied for an internship with Customs that would help me gain some experience and send me to the academy after I got my diploma. Charlie was so proud of me when I got the position and even more proud when I graduated from high school. I still remember him telling me that he was just counting down the days till I got shipped off to the academy so he could turn my room into a gym," I laughed recalling the teasing tone of his voice and the little wink he gave me after the statement. I paused for another moment. A lump formed in my throat at the memory of what happened next._

"_A week later, he was on duty when he pulled over a car for a broken tail light. When he got to the window, the driver pulled out a gun and shot Charlie twice in the chest before taking off. He died right there on the scene._

"_Turned out the driver had a warrant out for violating his parole. He freaked out when he got pulled over, knowing that it would end up in his arrest," my jaw clenched. "They caught the guy three days later at one of his cousins' houses or something. He was sentenced to life in prison. _

"_I kept myself busy after that, focusing on work and studies. I figured the more I kept busy the less time I would have to dwell on what happened," I let out a low, hard chuckle. "I guess I never really got out of that mentality since I'm being forced to use my vacation time as we speak."_

_Alice was the first person I had told about my parents outside of Angela. It wasn't because people would never ask. I just learned to evade the questions. I never liked opening up to people even before Charlie died and now, I felt like I don't really know how to. That's why I didn't allow myself to get close to anyone. Eventually, you have to tell them about yourself. _

_We walked a bit farther in silence before Alice had pulled me to a stop and looked me in the eyes._

"_I'm so sorry about your dad, Bella," I could see the sympathy written across her expression._

"_Please don't pity me, Alice," I spoke softly. "My life may not have been easy, but I'm content with where I am now. Don't ever feel sorry for me," my hand rose to cup her cheek. "Please." Alice nodded and we continued on talking about a lighter subject. She didn't press me about my past anymore for the rest of the night._

I was scrolling through the Redbox movies trying to find something scary and worthwhile in the new releases but I couldn't find a damn thing. Finally, I came across the remake of Amityville Horror. I never saw the original ones, but I hoped the newer one was ok.

_But then again, Alice seems like a wimp when it comes to horror films so it shouldn't matter anyway. _

_And if it sucks, we don't really have to watch it…_

"Hey Bella!" a loud voice called me, shaking me from my thoughts. _Every time I come to this gas station someone knows me. I don't even live here!_

I turn around to see Alice's large teddy bear of a brother and Rosalie get out of a big red Jeep. Emmett runs up and gives me a bone crushing hug with Rosalie just smiling at shaking her head at her childish husband.

"Emmett…can't…breathe!" I managed to squeak out.

"Oh, sorry. What movie did you get?" he asked as he let me down gently.

"'Amityville Horror'."

"Ooo scary. You gonna watch it with my sister? I heard you two have been hanging out nonstop these past few days," Emmett pointed out with a huge grin as he held open the door for us to go inside the gas station. I looked over at Rosalie and she was smiling pretty wildly as well. I was expecting her to smack him on the head like she usually did, but this time she seemed intrigued.

"Yea, I am actually. Ordered pizza and I'm gonna buy a pack of beers..."

"Pizza and beer?" his eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Rose can we go crash their little date? Please! Please, please, please!"

"No, Emmett. Leave them alone. We have to pick up some more stuff for tomorrow anyway," Rosalie shot him down. Emmett let out an "aww man" before she turned to me. "We're having a little house-warming BBQ tomorrow at our new house since it's the only day that's forecasted to actually be sunny. Just our family and some close friends. Come meet everyone. Be Alice's date."

"I'd love to go guys, but I don't wanna just invite myself to be Alice's date to a family function," I started.

"You're not. We're inviting you," Rosalie cut me off.

"Yea but I'm assuming Alice's parents are going to be there, right? I don't want to force her into introducing me to her parents. We're taking things slow."

"Yea but aren't you leaving in a couple days?" Emmett asked, grabbing two large sacks of charcoal.

"Three days. I changed my flight to Saturday afternoon. Technically, I don't have to be back at work till Monday. Wouldn't that be cheaper at a supermarket?" I asked pointing to the charcoal.

"Why not just go back on Sunday then?" he pressed. "And no, it's actually cheaper here."

"Weird, ok. And because traveling is exhausting and I want to give myself at least a day to recuperate before going back to work."

"Whatever," Rosalie butted in. "I don't care if you and Alice are taking it slow. I'm inviting you so you better go," she threatened.

"I'll talk to Alice," I stated making no promises as I paid the cashier for the beer.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said pointedly, trying to hold in a smile.

"Don't have too much fun with my sister," Emmett said with a wink. I rolled my eyes at him and chuckled slightly before walking out of the convenience store to the truck.

**A/N: I know that it's a pretty shitty and short chapter and a rather weird place to end it, but I wanted to give you guys **_**something**_**.**

**Next chapter will be longer I promise. Reviews would be awesome. Lets me know if there is anyone left…**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I walk back into the apartment with the movie and the food to loud music playing from Alice's bedroom. I set the pizzas down and put the beer in the fridge before investigating what that girl was up to. I noticed that the kitchen was cleaned and the living room had been picked up. It's not that it was a complete mess before, but we had let it go a bit. I felt kinda bad actually.

_Alice must be cleaning. That would explain the loud music._ She had mentioned to me in one of our conversations that she couldn't clean unless there was music. _Great now I feel worse. I should be helping her. _

I opened the bedroom door to find a very sexy sight: Alice dancing around to Luke Bryan's "Country Girl (Shake It for Me) in her little blue jean shorts, white spaghetti strap shirt and a cowboy hat.

Yes. I said cowboy hat. I didn't even know she owned one. But right now, I was so glad she did because _DAMN_…

My jaw dropped slightly as I crossed my arms and leaned up against the doorframe. Fuck yea, I was going to enjoy the view.

She hadn't noticed that I came in so she was mostly doing a lot of over-exaggerated movements including whipping her hair and ass-shaking; you know, the kind of dancing you do when you think no one is watching…not that I was complaining. Alice bent over in front of me picked up a shirt off the floor and tossed it into the hamper in the corner of the room.

When she turned around, she finally saw me standing there watching her. She looked a little startled and stopped dancing for a moment, but then a mischievous grin spread across her face. Alice pulled me by my shirt and sat me down on the edge of the bed. She pulled the hat down forward in front of her eyes a little more and began dancing again.

And it wasn't the childish dancing she was doing before. Oh no.

Let's just say she was swaying her hips in a more…provocative manner. It was enough to make me clench my jaw and ball her bed sheets up in my fists.

At the very end of the song, Alice straddled my lap and tossed the hat to the side. Her eyes bore into mine for a couple seconds before I crashed my lips to hers. My hands went up to cup Alice's face as her tangled into my hair.

I gripped her thighs before standing up and flipping her on the bed, with me lying in between her legs, and my lips never leaving hers. My left hand moved up above her head to help support my weight, while my other hand traveled up her thigh to grip her hip roughly. Alice moaned into my mouth and curled her fingers into the belt loops on both sides, pulling my hips into hers. _Fuck…_

I sucked and nipped at her bottom lip before moving down to her neck, kissing against her soft, sensitive skin. She let out a hiss between her teeth, sending a shiver down my spine. I slowly slid up my hand from her waist under her shirt and spread it out over her smooth stomach, her muscles contracting at my touch. I caressed her ribs with my fingertips, loving the sound of her erratic breathing.

I moved my hand up a bit further just under her breast before stopping, asking for permission. Her hands left my hair, and she dragged her nails down my back. _Oh. My. God. _I cupped and squeezed her breast over her bra, and Alice let out a guttural moan.

"_Yeah, I'm chilling on a dirt road; Laid back swerving like I'm George Jones…_" My phone blares in my pocket. Without even looking at it, I know whose calling. _I'm gonna kill him. _I pull out my phone to ignore the call, when it accidently answers it. _Fuckin' phone! _

"Hello," I answer trying not to sound annoyed.

"Hey partner! How's your vacation goin'?" _I swear his southern drawl is even more prominent over the phone. _

"Good. Listen Jasper, can I call you back later?"

"Aww, did I call you at a bad time? Wait, are you havin' sex? Leave it to you to find a way to get laid on your vacation…"

"Jasper! No. I'm busy. I'll call you back later," my tone couldn't be more short and clipped.

"Alright, alright. Don't go gettin' your panties in a bunch…if you're even wearin' any," I hung up. _I'm gonna kick his ass when I get back._

I tossed my phone onto the floor and looked back down at Alice. "Sorry about that. My pocket answered it. Trust me I would have ignored it," I said as I leaned in to kiss her again. She smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around my neck. I moved down her neck again, and nipped lightly on her collarbone. "Now where were we?" I whispered against her skin.

My hand moved up under her shirt again and just as I cupped her breast again, _"How dare you say that my behavior is unacceptable. So condescending, unnecessarily critical. I have the tendency of getting very physical…"_

_You have got to be kidding me!_

"Oh shit! That's my boss! Hang on!" Alice pushed me off of her to get her phone that was on her nightstand. I laid there on my back as she took the call and ran my hands through my hair. I let out a low chuckle.

_This would happen. Things finally get more…exciting, and we get interrupted. _

Alice and I hadn't been very physical. Sure, we've made out more than a few times, and we're constantly cuddling, but that's as far as it's gone. We had made an agreement that even though I am leaving in a few days, we wouldn't rush anything because of it_. _Am I okay with that?Yes. But that doesn't mean I don't get turned on…all the time. She's a smart, beautiful, and sexy woman. Can you really blame me?

I got up off the bed and walked into the kitchen to give her some privacy. I grabbed a slice of _pizza out of the box and began devouring it. _

I was hungry. Don't judge me.

"Sorry that was my boss," Alice came back out. "I have to go do a shoot in LA next week."

"No worries. That sounds cool. Do you like LA?" I asked, sitting down on the barstool and grabbing her a slice. "Oh and there's beer in the fridge."

"It's okay. I've been there so many times. I've gotten pretty used to it," Alice answers as she bends down in the fridge to grab a beer for each of us. I stare at her backside, admiring the view. She turns around and catches me staring. _Oops. _She stands up shaking her head and hands me the beer. _Don't act like you don't know any better, missy._ _I'm sure that's not the first time she's caught someone looking at her ass…and it sure won't be the last time._

"Well excuuuse me," I said in a mocking tone, taking a sip. "Not everyone gets to travel around all the time."

"I have to go there a lot for work. Don't act like I'm always going there for vacation," Alice jokingly hit me in my arm. "You ever been there?"

"Yeah, a couple times but it was for work too. Training, mostly. I didn't have time to sight-see or anything so I don't really know what's there besides what people tell me.

"Do you know how long you're gonna be there?" I asked.

"About three weeks or so. I have to shoot the process: the outfits, the models, and the actual shoot," she paused for a bit, thinking. "You said you have a lot of vacation time, right? Maybe you can come up the last week, or something?" Alice looked nervous. I smiled and walked around the counter to her. I took her hand and kissed it.

"I'll definitely try," her eyes lit up. "I don't see how that would be a problem unless something came up so I'll try to take you up on that offer."

"Good," she smiled and gave me a quick peck. Then, her eyes turned a little more serious. "I just don't want it to seem like I'm making you rush into anything or pressure you into a relationship with me if you don't want it," I chuckled, remembering my little run in with Emmett and Rosalie at the gas station.

"Speaking of pressuring…"

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world…" Alice scrambled to answer her phone as fast as she can while I was just sitting there trying to process what the fuck I had just heard. Then I overheard who was over the phone.

"Alice! I already told Bella that you BOTH have to come to the house-warming party we're having tomorrow. No excuses," I heard Rosalie say sternly over the phone.

Then, it hit me. _Alice has that ringtone specifically for Rosalie. _

I just burst into laughter. Alice was giving me the most puzzled look, but I couldn't tell if it was because of what Rosalie was saying or why I was almost keeling over with laughter. Alice walked into the other room to hear Rosalie a bit better.

"Let me talk to Bella first…No I'm not making any promises," I could hear her saying in the other room. "Because my parents are gonna be there…I was just saying that I didn't wanna pressure her…Well…Rosie…Ok, fine. I can't speak for Bella, but I'll be there…No I'm not making her…No…Rosie I'm hanging up the phone…Bye Rose...BYE!" _Uh oh…I don't know what's worse: a ticked off Alice or a ticked off Rosalie._

…till Alice came out the room and glared at me.

_Alice wins._

"Why didn't you tell me that Rosalie convinced you to go to the party?" Alice accused walking up to the opposite side of the counter.

"Whoa, wait, what? Rosalie didn't convince me of anything. I told her that I would talk to you first about it."

"She said that you agreed to go."

"No, no, no. If I agreed at all, it was to get out of there," she raised her eyebrow at me still skeptical. "Alice, I don't wanna just show up with your parents there and make you introduce them to me…especially, since we were just having a conversation on how we were not going to rush into anything." She squinted her eyes at me for a second, then took a deep breath and relaxed. She leaned onto the counter on her elbows and dropped her head down.

"You're right. I believe you. I'm sorry I accused you. Rosalie can be a bit frustrating at times," she admitted. I nodded my head in agreement. "Oh, and why were you laughing?" I started to laugh a little again just at the memory.

"The ringtone you had for Rosalie, I just wanted to say: well done," she sweetly giggled.

"I was so embarrassed when my phone went off," she blushed.

"Yeah, I could tell by the way you jumped up to answer it," I laughed. We sat there in silence for a moment before she reached over and grabbed my hand.

"So do you think we should go?" I took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes.

_There's that nervous look she gets._ I tried to think of all the reasons why I shouldn't go, but the only thing I could think of was just making her uncomfortable.

"I'll go," I started off slowly. "But only if you want me to. I have no problem with going. As far as introductions with your parents goes, you can decide. Besides, you don't really have to introduce me as someone you're seeing…especially since you've never dated a girl before. We can break it to them slowly later down the line if you want to. For now, I'm just a really good friend. They don't have to know the benefits part of it just yet," I added with a wink hoping to get her to smile.

Which, of course, she did. _I win._

"Ok, that sounds reasonable enough," Alice leans over the counter to kiss me, softly. "Mmm, now how about that movie," she smirked.

"After you, lovely."

**A/N: ...yes I know it's been a very long time...and that this chapter was really short, but I felt I had to give you something. For those of you still reading this, I'm sorry it took so long and thank you for sticking with me after this long. **

**Crazy Heart 101: Sorry for the wait. **

**Reviews help. Thanks again guys.**


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